The war hadn’t ended yet.
500 people in the Blood Carnival army had survived and were resisting.
It was a desperate level of resistance.
“We must survive...!”
Was it because they didn’t want to die? If they died, they would lose items and experience!
“Don’t retreat! Push fiercely!”
"There are less than 20 enemies! Consume their stamina!”
The resistance and morale of Blood Carnival gradually grew. A mouse pushed into a corner would fight back at the cat, and the Overgeared members felt pressure due to the large numbers. In these circumstances, Grid was still calm. He didn’t feel the slightest bit of tension. He even decided to leave the battlefield.
"Lauel, come with me and Euphemina to meet the water clan’s king.” Grid descended from the sky and said.
Lauel responded in an unwilling manner. “Must you meet him now? The war hasn't finished yet. Is it necessary to leave your position and risk your friends...?”
"Maxong, the water clan’s king, only leaves the bedroom once every three days. It’s currently this time. If not now, we’ll have to wait another three days before we can meet him. Oh, in addition, the system blocks anyone from invading the king’s bedroom.”
Lauel frowned at Euphemina’s explanation.
“The king is stuck in his bedroom all day? Even now, when there’s a war?”
"He lost his mind when the princess died. It has been years since he stopped caring about the kingdom.”
"Pathetic... A person who doesn’t have the qualities of a king was born to the throne and is now abandoning his kingdom.”
Three days was a long time. There was a lot of work to be done, and this was directly linked with material gains and losses. In the end, Lauel decided to leave the battlefield with Grid. Wouldn’t it be dangerous for their colleagues?
Grid patted Lauel’s shoulders.
"There's no need to worry. Piaro and Asmophel are here.”
"I’m well aware of the strength of both of them. Piaro is worth 1,000 people and Asmophel is strong like the Overgeared members. However, the Overgeared members are tired.” There were too many enemies. There were six third advancement users still alive. "I wonder if the Overgeared members can hold on until Piaro wipes out the enemies...”
Lauel was worried. It was a reasonable worry. This wasn’t Lauel’s original personality. Depending on the situation, he could even discard his colleagues. Lauel was this type of ruthless person.
‘But not anymore... Lauel, you are changing like me.’
Grid felt good and patted Lauel’s head.
“Rest assured. Asmophel’s skills aren’t that low.”
In fact, Grid had also underestimated Asmophel until he saw the ‘fully recovered Asmophel’ with the Great Lord’s Sword. He saw Asmophel at a level comparable to the top rankers in Overgeared. Yes, that was an underestimation. Asmosphel’s real strength that Grid discovered...
"He’s right next to Piaro.”
It was above Grid. Asmophel even had infinite potential. Grid once again shivered as he recalled Asmophel’s unique characteristics, ‘Great Talent Matures Late’ and ‘Determination of the Number Two.’
‘Kraugel will someday go beyond Piaro.’
Asmophel might be able to rise above him as well.
***
“Unbelievable...! One soldier is so strong!”
"I’m not a soldier. I’m the captain of the Overgeared Magic Knights division under direct control of Duke Grid...”
“Ugh...! I’m going to die because of a soldier...! How shameful!”
"...”
Asmophel was once the next greatest swordsman after Piaro. He was called the ‘pillar’ of the empire, but never felt as frustrated as he did now. It was because the enemies continued to treat him as a soldier after the woman named White called him one. It was pointless no matter how much he explained. The Blood Carnival troops didn’t listen to the words of a soldier. They were busy looking for ways to live.
"Ugh... A farmer and a soldier are so strong...! How many monsters are present in Reidan?”
"No, I’m not a soldier. I...”
“H-How is that bastard Grid raising his soldiers? Dammit! I’m not going near Reidan for the rest of my life!”
"...”
Had Asmophel ever had a chance to act since serving Duke Grid? No. In the first place, he couldn’t even step on the stage to demonstrate his skills. However, this time he had a perfect stage. Asmophel didn’t want to miss this opportunity. He wanted to be acknowledged by Duke Grid. But no matter how valiant he was when killing the enemies, he was treated as a ‘soldier’ to the end.
‘What if My Lord misunderstands and thinks I’m only a soldier?’
Seokeok!
Puok!
Asmophel was anxious and swiftly killed the enemies. The second advancement users. Their strong and controlled attacks were effectively avoided and he dealt a fatal counterattack. Asmophel’s actions were enough to raise the Overgeared members’ admiration.
‘Asmophel was this strong?’
‘I thought he was just an NPC specializing in military training in the barracks...’
Really strong. A way to describe his strength was Faker’s swiftness with Peak Sword’s attack power, without the long cooldown. It was comparable to Piaro, Grid, and Kraugel, who overwhelmed the enemies with power.
"...But he’s being treated as a soldier.”
The members of Overgeared laughed as they watched the strong Asmophel. The atmosphere of the battlefield changed.
***
Euphemina described Siren as a ‘well.’ The kingdom had a population of only 200,000. It was located deep in the sea and there were no exchanges with other countries, knowing only their own culture.
“Most of the water clan people are narrow minded and lazy. They have a very narrow viewpoint and no passion. For them, this is the whole world.” This simpleness felt good. “Those who crave development or change are rare, and King Maxong is the same. In fact, most of the water clan don’t care if the king rules the kingdom or not.”
"The isolated environment created a stagnant people. The stagnant people gave birth to an incompetent king. What a kingdom... It’s completely mixed up.”
“...?”
Euphemina made a strange expression at Lauel’s ‘mixed up.’ It was because the word wasn’t translated into Satisfy’s official language.
Grid was confused, “Lauel, when did you learn that saying?”
“I have been studying Korean in order to get to know you properly. It’s a very scientific language and easy to understand. Combined with the brilliant knowledge that I inherited from my first life, I have mastered Korean in just four days.”
“So this saying is something you learned...?”
"It’s more efficient to convey the meaning by learning the words used in everyday life. I also know the word ‘Eumgunjin.’ That is my current condition right now. Strict, hardworking, sincere.” (Eumgunjin takes the first letters of the three words to make it an abbreviated form.)
"...”
Lauel wasn’t a prospective Korean immigrant. At the time of the 1st National Competition, he wasn’t a member of Overgeared and missed the opportunity to buy land near Grid’s building. Nonetheless, he was the first to master Korean, making Grid feel surprised.
Lauel asked the still puzzled Euphemina, "Maxong is mourning the dead princess, but I heard there are three other princes. What about them?”
"2nd Prince Nuong is very lazy. He uses the minimum of energy to eat and sleep. On the other hand, 1st Prince Paong and 3rd Prince Gulong are diligent. Unlike the common water clan people, they have radical ideas. But they still can’t escape from the limits of being born in the water clan. They want to block Siren from danger by isolating it from humans again. They don’t dream of reforming Siren.”
"Well, they’re at least better than their father. I understand their minds. From the position of the innocent water clan, I also wouldn’t want to interact with greedy humans.”
Lauel nodded as they walked down the corridor. He was deep in thought. What else was he planning? Grid and Euphemina were filled with curiosity and were about to question him.
"Let’s change the king.”
Lauel expressed an outrageous idea.
***
Siren’s 35th king, Maxong. He was a person who obtained the throne because he was the eldest son. As most kings, he didn’t do much for the kingdom. He just looked after his own well-being using the authority of the king. His eyes were dead, like a rotten fish, without any motivation. He sat on the throne and greeted Grid’s party.
"If it wasn’t for you... Right now, Siren would be destroyed? I will express my thanks on behalf of the people. The compensation can be obtained if you go to see the prophet Miong.”
His attitude towards the kingdom’s hero was very weak. Grid was upset despite receiving a description of Maxong in advance. The moment that Lauel was about to advise the frowning Grid on how to act.
"First of all, take your ass out of that pearl chair. Next, get up from your seat and walk in front of me.” Lauel closed his mouth. Grid glared at Maxong with intimidating eyes. “Then bow your head. Say thank you for saying your people and the royal family.”
“...?”
Maxong doubted his ears. He was a prince since he was born and then a king. Nobody had ever spoken to him this way. The soldiers lined up on his left and right made dumbfounded expressions. They couldn’t cope immediately because there were no sense of realism. There was an awkward silence and Grid spoke again, “Come down.”
Grid originally hoped for an alliance with Siren. The military and commercial sectors would develop in a positive direction under the mutual exchange. But now that idea had changed. He judged that there was no value in establishing an alliance with the current Siren. If that was the case...
“I will put Siren under my feet.”
If he became a king, he would be able to earn more than mid-sized companies. Grid heard this and dreamt of becoming king. That’s right. At first, he just wanted to be rich. But now it was different.
The best. As the head of Overgeared, which gathered the strongest people in each field, he wanted to become a person without any shortages. This was a natural desire. In particular, more players dreamt of being the top in games where PvP was highlighted. Grid was qualified to have such dreams.
“The king of Siren will serve me from now on. If you don’t respond, I will oppress you with force.”
Grid once again drove a wedge into the disbelieving Maxong.
Lauel smiled.
‘Now he’s good at taking care of himself.’
In terms of the people and the geographical characteristics, Siren was an easy country to manage. It was better to obtain it, even if some bleeding was required. Lauel felt that Grid was developing every day.